RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER Blue ridge ECRWSS September 2011 Leader & Loudoun Today – Back to School Notes – 9/11 Remembrances ... Backpack Safety Purcellville: Church sanctuary at 11:30 aM on The 10th anniversary of the September Saturday, September 10th, to honor First By: Christina VanderHurst, d.C. 11th tragedy will be held at the Bush responders. all First responders in the Perry J. VanderHurst, d.C., F.a.S.a. Tabernacle at Fireman’s Field at 250 community and their families have been It’s that time of year again when children are South Nursery avenue. invited to the service and the BBQ lunch - returning to school; loading up their backpacks. The remembrance Ceremony will eon immediately following the ceremony. implement - Unfortunately, those bags are often the cause of begin at 6:00 PM. Following the ceremo - Loudoun County Supervisor for the Blue ing some simple injury. ny the Town will unveil and dedicate the ridge district, Jim Burton, will be on strategies, you can provide The american academy of Orthopedics stated Town of Purcellville’s First responder hand to assist in the presentation of the your child the best chance at avoiding potentially that backpack injury is a significant problem for Monument featuring a steel I-Beam from certificates to the honorees. life-long problems. children. Fifty-eight percent of orthopedists have the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Members of the public are encouraged In order to be as safe as possible, your child’s seen patients complaining about back or shoulder Overflow parking will be available at to attend the service to support these pub - backpack and its contents should weigh no more problems related to backpacks. The problem usu - the Loudoun Valley Community Center lic servants so worthy of our gratitude. than 15% of the child’s body weight. To figure ally lies with the weight of the pack, as well as and emerick elementary. any member of the public, other than this out, weigh your child and use the following improper use. a shuttle will be in service between First responders and family members, formula: Some common conditions we see associated 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM. who wish to attend the luncheon may do Child’s Weight x 0.15 = 15% of body weight so by making a small donation to the with backpack injury are neck, back, and shoul - Middleburg: Once you have that number, weigh the back - Church. Please rSVP to the Church office der pain, arm numbness or tingling, poor posture, In recognition of the 10th anniversary pack with its usual contents and see if it’s too at 540 687-6492. muscular imbalances and fatigue, as well as scol - of 9/11 Middleburg United Methodist heavy. remove any non-essential items that can iosis. Children’s bodies are still growing, so it’s Church will conduct a brief service in the contribute to the overall weight of the pack. also, extremely important to care for the spine. By Continued on page 3 – Special Investigative Report – SkateNow.org Rallies for New Park Linda Tribby $14 Million Bank Fraud Sentence – Fundraising Effort is On! – A Slap on the Wrist? Skate Now is a nonprofit organiza - tion spearheading the community – By Molly Pinson Simoneau Tribby kept the scam going for seven years or driven effort to build a skate park in It’s been said that crime doesn’t pay, but it so, providing her victims with fake account Purcellville. Skating is extremely would seem that’s not the case when it comes to statements, and even making periodic interest popular with youth in the area. local scam artist Linda Tribby, who pled guilty payments. Hundreds of skaters are anxiously to bank fraud last Spring. Tribby’s family is still By the time she was caught, Tribby had man - awaiting the building of the park, and reportedly living a luxurious life paid for with aged to steal over $14 million. She bought sev - having a safe place to enjoy their stolen money; and Tribby will be able to join eral homes including her family residence near sport. them once her 7-year prison sentence is served. Lovettsville; where, according to a BrL source, The park will be located at the cor - Tribby had been working at a Wachovia Bank “a brand new $300,000 barn” stands, and a his - ner of route 287 and Hirst road, branch in Purcellville, now Wells Fargo bank, toric home in Waterford. She also bought a right near the Purcellville exit from for 25 years. In 2003, Tribby began convincing house for her daughter in Shepherdstown, West route 7. The site – on land owned Wachovia customers to invest in a “wealth man - Virginia, as well as recreational properties in by the Virginia department of agement account,” which, she promised, would New York and Nevada. Transpor-tation – is very close to the pay tax-free interest. Instead, Tribby was simply Tribby also bought a fleet of vehicles includ - bike trail, allowing skaters easy transferring these funds into her own accounts. ing three Chevrolet Silverados, a 2009 Cadillac access. When complete the park will Continued on page 10 be leased through the Town of Saving the phenomena in Purcellville. See Monarch The Planning Committee for the your back yard. butterflies, p. 13. park is headed by former round Hill Mayor John Heyner. russ Forno is heading up the engineering and waste water flow, and working with Purcellville’s new Park and recreation depart- ment, headed by Paul McCray. Design Cabinet at work. Continued on page 20 INSIDE: SpEcIal ElEctIoN prEvIEw BluE rIDgE DIStrIct, pagE 5 On the web with daily updates at www.brleader.com page 2 Blue Ridge Leader & Loudoun Today September 2011 comes down to time management and the mere fact that most of us are living very busy Ask Dr. Mike lives. Screens are wonderful distractions for our toddlers, especially at those times when we as parents have only two hands and way too much to manage. Dr. Mike, My friend refuses to allow her 17 month old I hold the position that abstinence is best but moderation in TV viewing is fine for our to watch TV. She believes that early TV exposure can toddlers. The idea being that TV should not be used as a babysitter but rather as a compli - cause cognitive problems in development, and she even mentary activity to your child’s day. If you are going to allow your toddler to watch a lit - cited an article to make her point to me. Is this true? tle TV, then make the most out of each and every viewing experience. Be present when I hope not because my toddler loves Sesame Street. he watches and interact with him during the show. For example, if the Count is counting He watches a little in the morning and then a little at to the magic number of the day, then count along, or if elmo is dancing, then dance along. night. I watched tons of TV growing up, and I turned Perhaps you could even schedule TV time as an educational activity each day, reviewing out okay. What are your thoughts? Am I a bad mom? what was watched for greater retention. I advise against allowing your child to watch TV – B. in Loudoun County whenever he wishes or alone or for him to watch TV during meals or during other social activities. B., I do not think you’re a bad mom for allowing your toddler to spend a little time with elmo and the gang. However, between watching Dr. Mike, My husband and I are in a serious disagreement and need your input. I’d television and videos, Twittering, surfing the Internet, texting and playing computer or like to seek treatment for our teenage daughter who is depressed and acting out in a video games, it seems that we are all spending more time than ever looking at some sort number of concerning ways. My husband is opposed to treatment because he feels that of screen, which does beg the question -- How much screen time is too much for our little our daughter will be “labeled for life with a mental disorder” by the insurance compa - ones? as a psychologist, of course I am been witness to the extreme cases. However, ny. He also feels we can solve our daughter’s problems at home as a family by increas - over the past few years, screen time concerns rank up there for why kids and teens are ing structure. While I agree that we can and should be doing more as parents, I also coming to therapy. Presently, I work with several teenager boys who were spending the feel we need professional help. What do you think about his point on labeling? – S. in majority of their free time gaming in isolation with limited, and for some, no peer related Loudoun County social contact. I also see several teenagers who have great difficulty managing their tex - S., Typically a client’s private mental health record remains private under the Health ting time. More and more elementary aged children I work with can’t seem to get enough Insurance Portability and availability act of 1996 (HIPaa). It is true, however, that third of their handheld gaming devices – dS, Gameboy, PSP, etc. early intervention and plan - party insurers (managed care companies and insurance companies) often require a diagno - ning is the key to successfully managing your child’s screen time. as the parent of a tod - sis in order for treatment to be approved and covered. Thus, there will be a history, a dler, you are in a position to set the stage for healthy screen time for him for years to paper trail and a label for your daughter once she is in the system.